Anyway, the reason I mention this again is that: 1) I'm a whore; and 2) In the right-hand margin of this blog I've added some book links. The first one takes you to my publisher's website, where you'll be able to find information about Book-Related Events (BRAs) and so forth as they're scheduled. The others take you straight to a pair of popular Internet booksellers from whom you can buy the books in paper or electronic form--though of course you can buy them from anybody you want, or you can check them out of the library, or you can borrow them from your friend's bathroom, or you can not buy them at all.

That's what you call a "soft sell"--or maybe it's more accurate to call it a "passive-agressive sell." Either way, don't forget to put food on the Hopper's table.

Actually, that's not true. There are plenty of hills where I live, but I don't live in one of the "key locations" where they count the bike dorks:

The key-est commuter cycling location is apparently the Hudson River Greenway at 50th St. in Manhattan, which saw an average of 5,273 weekday cyclists in 2012. However, I'd challenge that, since that number is probably heavily weighted with unemployed and/or rich Freds who are able to ride during the week and are heading over the George Washington Bridge to train for riding around in circles in Central Park. For a more accurate number, they shouldn't count any cyclist riding crabon wheels.

The second key-est commuter cycling location according to the report is the Williamsburg Bridge, with an average 4,488 riders per weekday, though arguably that number is equally skewed, since at least 70% of those riders are "undocumented hipsters," i.e. transplants who are still legal residents of other states and who will undoubtedly move back to where they came from when their hopes and dreams crash and burn. (Though some of them will succeed fabulously, make tons of money, buy $3 million Brooklyn brownstones, have kids, and forsake their bicycles for Subarus.) For a more accurate Williamsburg Bridge number they need to count only people with New York State driver's licenses, because you haven't really committed to a city until you've been to the DMV. Until then, you're just a tourist.

In fact, I'd guess the only number that actually means anything is the paltry 250 people a day taking the Staten Island Ferry with their bikes, because riding a bike on Staten Island is like ordering the vegetable plate at a steakhouse--clearly if you're doing it then you're dedicated to your lifestyle.

I did like the deliberately provocative Dutch-style cover page on the report, though:

“The fabulous increase in cycling in the past half-dozen years has leveled off,” said Charles Komanoff, a transportation economist and longtime cycling advocate. “To some extent, the D.O.T. has done or is doing everything it can do.”Expanding cycling, he said, was now largely incumbent on the Police Department, which has faced persistent criticism from advocates over its inconsistent enforcement of traffic laws.

In other words, we're totally fucked.

And now, I'm please to present you with a quiz. As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer. If you're right you'll be SO EXCITED YOU'LL HIT THE CAPS LOCK AND FORGET TO TURN IT OFF AGAIN, and if you're wrong YOU'LL GET SO MAD YOU'LL HIT THE CAPS LOCK AND FORGET TO TURN IT OFF AGAIN and also see a Canadian with a big-ass chainring, forwarded by a reader.

Thanks very much for reading, ride safe, and may you delight on the oddly appealing scent of your own foot odor.

According to Lululemon, the transparent pants fiasco is going to cost them $60 million dollars, unless one of two things happen:Brazilians adopt transparent yoga pants as haute couture; or people start using the "Eat a Beaver, Save a tree" environmental advocacy iron-on Lululemon mailed out to all customers on Wednesday.

Well I screwed up when I bought the first Bikesnob book because I got the Kindle version. I purchased the second one in hardback old school paper. I guess I'll just go ahead and order a paper version of the first one if I can when I order the this latest book.

Now if I get lucky and Snob's not just pulling our leg about coming to Cleveland I can get all three signed by the author. And then happy day when I get those puppies on ebay I'll make enough for that inner-grated crabon bar-stem combo I been wanting so bad.

In the words of the preacher I am, for a Friday evening, drinking too less. Also the wee dog's backtrack has reminded me that it's too long since i had any decent e. I'm going where my needs can be met, have a nice weekend everyone, thanks for another week of great posts RTMS.

...wishiwasmerckx...i do cast a dashing 'figure' whilst ice skating but i'm an old hockey guy & even now, still skate like one...

...big, wide, side to side strides...you carve corners, you power through with fast crossovers...knees bent, hips centered & shoulders square to the ice at all times...

...even after 20 years, (& my advanced dotage...bwahahahaha...) a couple hours at the rink & the basic concept came flooding back...the rest is simply working at it...

...i'm back into it for the fun, the exercise as well as the camaraderie & as an ex-pat canuck who's spent the majority of his life in nor-cal, the canadian government requires i keep up my skating chops or i'm not allowed to mention the great white north...

...wishiwasmerckx...i couldn't lift anything heavier than a six-pack over my head anyway but once i get my skating legs back under me, this nasty ol' hockey guy knows how to link arms with some cute little lady figure skater & coordinate the side by side, hip to hip, motion & flow...

Want to unflatten ridership. "Studies in Vancouver show separated bike lanes are a game changer-increasing the number of cyclists by 200% or more. The average percentage of women to men increased from 28% to 38% (20% increases in NYC) and the number of children tripled." I think what they are saying that women prefer to keep themselves and their children as far away from cars as they can when riding a bike. The little parenthesis things indicate that I got this information from the Velo-City global 2012 Vancouver-International Cycling Conference as presented by Cycling Utah newspaper. My apologies for being so verbose, but way to go Ms. babble on. Transparent government or not, your city is trying hard to be the best bicycling city in world.

Forgot to mention, Hopper (that's what we call him around here) is actually more connected in Hollywood than Kevin Bacon. But "6 degrees of Dennis Hopper" sounds less like a fun game and more like a Halloween haunted house theme.

eyo snob- i thought you were a little bit punk? why do you care so much about the fat cat insurance companies robbing all the poor nyc saps that cant figure out how to save a little something every month on their auto insurance? you been talking about it a lot lately. are you growing up even more and making investments with all that big time book $$$?

I think the worst thing about the promotional video for the new book is how Snob is not wearing any clothes and...

What? What do you mean he is wearing clothes?

Oh... yeah OK. OK I see it now. Sorry, my mistake. Lululemon must have supplied The Snob's New Clothes.

But, we can all agree that the video sucked can't we?

No? It didn't suck? Oh, OK.

Well, I suppose the video did convince me to buy not just the new book, but the whole Lord of the Granny Rings Trilogy - the poor fucker needs all the support he can get. But it is a hard one, at the end of the day the 13 kids and the monkey might still go without, while Snob spends the royalties on precious, precious granny rings and custom 210mm stems. SLOW & AERO, that's what the ink says, but he'll never be a Lone Wolf.

I guess I can at least have a flick through the books to satisfy morbid curiosity... "so there's that"... but it will still mostly be a sympathy flick.

It's funny--you don't look like an idiot, and most of the time you don't sound like one. Yet when it comes to helmets, you say the most idiotic things. I just hope no one dies as a result of your encouragement of no-helmet riding. I know, we all make our own decisions, and it won't be your fault if some idiot gets himself killed because he/she was stupid enough to go along with the "Helmets? Who needs 'em?" attitude you express. But you could refrain from actively encouraging no-helmet riding. I mean, it's not your job or mine to talk every suicide down from the ledge, but we don't have to stand on the sidewalk and chant "Jump! Jump!" either.

Thx Babs. I found Selene Yeager's recent article in Bicycling helpful and was reminded how much I rely on riding to keep me relatively sane (talking dogs notwithstanding). Hope I got the link below right.

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As long as there will be kids in the world, there will be somebody trying to make kid-friendly editions of the things grown ups adore. Songs are no exception. In fact, an whole franchise's, Kidz Bop, has been created around the idea that kids like Jason derulo songs far better when his capable vocals are substituted by the wailing of a room ful of teens.

And maybe they're correct. The spring songs for kids operation has been in business since 2000, publishing over 20 albums of your beloved songs held down and smacked in the face by a bunch of god darn kids. Nine of the first 10 gone gold in the U.S.

Here's the thing, though; occasionally no amount of censorship and lyric alterations can mask the fact that the song in question is clearly meant for an adult audience exclusively.

OK, right off the bat, fantastic job taking care of the "tongue" business. "Hands" is indeed less inflamed than "tongue." Regrettably, the rest of the Kidz Bop edition sounds dirtier to me. "Kiss till we're intoxicated" is absolute gibberish. By comparison, "dance till we're completed" sounds more like sex-related innuendo compared to anything else. There is actually no other time you can boogie until. You can't dance until finally after you're done. You can dance till you're dead, but aren't you also done at that position? This line makes no sense if it's not really a metaphor of some sort. It's fairly clear that these kids are singing about getting an climax. Adam Levine wasn't almost that presumptuous so earlier in his version of the song.

They don't even get by with the chorus just before they make an additional change for the verse.kid friendly songs

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!